Plaistow Budget Committee recommends most warrant articles, advances contingency and capital reserves

The Plaistow Budget Committee on its most recent meeting recommended a slate of warrant articles placing funding before voters for the next town meeting, including capital-reserve deposits and an $85,000 contingency fund.

Committee members reviewed each article in turn. Speaker 2 read Article P-25-3, proposing a water department operating budget of $510,516 (with a default budget of $520,016 if the article is defeated); Speaker 5 moved and the committee recommended the article. The committee also recommended Article P-25-4, to establish a contingency fund of $85,000; staff reported the town had spent about $60,000 of the fund this year, largely toward repairs to the safety complex roof, leaving roughly $20,000 that would lapse to the general fund if unused.

Other recommended items included a $100,000 deposit to the…